“He is fine, Tate. He was already off the bus when it went over,” Silas answered the man who had shot Elizabeth. “They’re trying to get the bus stabilized before they can get more paramedics inside to help bring the other kids out.”

“If you’ve got everything under control here, I’m going to help with the bus.”

“We’ve got it. Tate, our family owes you.” He gave the man a nod. “You’ll have to walk. Traffic is lined up and down the mountain.”

“I’ll catch a ride back with Dustin or Greer. That’s two. Don’t think Greer isn’t keeping count.”

“He never lets me forget it,” Silas said wryly.

Raising her head, she saw Tate about to move away, but then he paused.

“I expect one of you to take care of the woman in Greer’s pot patch. Can’t have Knox sniffing around.”

“She’ll be gone before you get back.” Silas nodded.

Alanna felt as if she were in a never-ending nightmare, where they were just casually standing around, talking like getting rid of a dead body was an everyday occurrence. Maybe it was. Maybe there had been so many horror movies about killers living on mountains for a reason.

Matthew taking the glass of water from Isaac to hand it to her had her flinching away. Scooting away from her, he set it down between them. “I would never hurt you.”

She pressed her dry lips together, seeing the pain in his eyes.

“I wanted to tell you about my gift.” Matthew looked up to stare at his brothers standing at the bottom of the steps. “What gifts we all have. I couldn’t find the courage. I should have told you last night. I tried to tell you last night, but then I got distracted.” Matthew’s hands hung down between his thighs. “I’m a fire walker.”

Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

She shook her head. “Fire walkers don’t exist.”

“They do. I am one. I can create fire, walk through fire, and anything else you can imagine.” Matthew turned his hand palm up. On the tip of his index finger, a tiny ball of fire appeared.

Alanna watched as he lifted each individual finger and moved them. The tiny ball jumped to each finger before returning to his index finger. As Matthew stared at it, it grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of a baseball then disappeared when he closed his fist, as if he had shut off the oxygen.

“I can control the way it moves.”

“I saw that for myself.” She shuddered.

“I can withstand high heat, which would—”

“Kill anyone else,” she finished for him. “Saw that, too, or is my mind making it up?”

“You didn’t imagine it. You’ve never imagined anything happening to you.”

Her eyes widened. “How do you know what I imagined?”

“Alanna.”

Silas’ voice drew her attention to him.